When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency and Treasury Department announced a process for eventually receiving public input on options and potential effects of ending the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Announcement on Conservatorship: Under a new agreement, the agencies said:
The path to ending the conservatorships should be based on the financial condition of the government-sponsored enterprises and potential impact of termination on the housing market.
They will issue a public request for information outlining one or more specific options for the termination of conservatorship.
Following the public input period, the FHFA will brief the Financial Stability Oversight Council on the input.
PSPA Amendments: In addition to the announcement on the conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie, the FHFA and Treasury approved amendments to the GSEs’ Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements. The agencies said:
They deleted ICBA-opposed provisions of the PSPAs that they suspended in September 2021.
These provisions include limits on the enterprises’ cash windows, multifamily lending, loans with higher risk characteristics, and second homes and investment properties.
The changes will provide the GSEs more flexibility to support access to homeownership.
ICBA View: In a recent Main Street Matters blog post, ICBA’s Ron Haynie said it’s time for policymakers to end the GSE conservatorship, which will require the Treasury Department and FHFA to work together to make it happen.
Background: ICBA has repeatedly called on FHFA and Treasury to end the 16-year conservatorship of Fannie and Freddie and return the enterprises to private ownership and control, as required by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2007.